Why You Need a Cybersecurity Framework to Protect Your Organization
The NIST 800-171 Cybersecurity Framework Ensures AllConnected Clients are Able to Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover
What is the NIST 800-171 Cybersecurity Framework?
NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a set of standards, guidelines and practices for mitigating your organization’s cybersecurity risks, published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Back in 2013, Executive Order (EO) 13636 directed the executive branch of the United States to do the following:
- Develop a technology-neutral voluntary cybersecurity framework
- Promote and incentivize the adoption of cybersecurity practices
- Increase the volume, timeliness and quality of cyber threat information sharing
- Incorporate strong privacy and civil liberties protections into every initiative to secure our critical infrastructure
- Explore the use of existing regulation to promote cyber security
This order was supported by the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the aforementioned framework with the intention to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure.
Now, it is recommended that any organization — but particularly those which handle sensitive information that needs to be properly protected against cyber criminals — remain compliant with the latest NIST 800-171 mandate. If your organization works with the government at any capacity, compliance is mandatory.
Organizations can use the NIST framework to develop a flexible, repeatable, and cost-effective strategy for cybersecurity
Understanding the Primary NIST Cybersecurity Framework Components
The Cybersecurity Framework consists of three main components: Implementation Tiers, the Framework Core, and your Company Profile:
Tiers describe to what degree your organization’s cybersecurity risk management practices reflect the Framework’s core categories.
The Tiers range from informal, reactive responses to more agile and risk-informed:
- Tier one: Partial
- Tier two: Risk informed
- Tier three: Repeatable
- Tier Four: Adaptive
The Tiers you select should describe how well integrated your cybersecurity practice is with your organization’s broader risk decisions. That is, make sure that your Tier meets your organizational goals, reduces cybersecurity risk to acceptable levels, and can be consistently implemented.
The Core is a set of 23 Categories of cybersecurity – practices and outcomes for your organization – organized into five higher level functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover:
Categories
The Categories were designed to cover the breadth of cybersecurity objectives for an organization, and include the physical environment, cyber security, employee training and communication, along with a focus on business outcomes.
Subcategories
At the deepest level, the Framework Core subcategories are 108 outcome-driven general statements. Use the following to determine how to create or improve your cyber security policies and practices based on your organization’s needs.
You can download the framework here.
The Company Profile shows how your organization’s needs, requirements, practices, objectives, risk tolerance, and resources align with the Framework Core.
Profiles can be used to identify opportunities for improving your organization’s cybersecurity strategy by comparing your “Current” Profile with a “Target” Profile.
To develop your Company Profile, after reviewing all of the Categories and Subcategories (download above):
- Prioritize the statements based on your unique business needs and objectives
- Determine which are most critical
- Select a Tier level for those Subcategories your organization has already implemented
- Select which Categories and Subcategories your organization should address over the next year
Your Current Profile can then be used to prioritize and measure your progress toward the Target Profile, while factoring in other business needs, such as cost-effectiveness and innovation.
Profiles can be used to conduct self-assessments and communicate within an organization or between organizations.
NIST compliance is an ongoing process.
Why Should You Consider a Compliance Checklist for Building a NIST-Based Framework for Your Organizations?
Any non-compliance of the NIST 800-171 mandate can lead to potentially devastating consequences, regardless of your industry.
- Manufacturing: particularly those with Department of Defense (DoD) contracts that need to adhere to DFARS or CMMC requirements, any level of non-compliance can result in a loss of those government contrast and potential debarment. This means your organization could lose the ability to acquire these contracts in the future
- Finance: institutions and accountants run the risk of losing your licenses to practice if you are found to be non-compliant with FINRA and IRS regulations. The FTC Safeguarding Tax Payer Data Rule requires a cybersecurity framework to maintain compliance
- Healthcare: a lack of HIPAA compliance can also lead to costly consequences and potential lawsuits (at best)
- Education: schools and other educational institutions can also lose government contracts and funding for not maintaining compliance
3-Step Process to Ensuring NIST Compliance
1) Identify Your Areas of Compliance
What different contracts does your organization hold? What are the individual compliance regulations for each? What kind of clients do you work with, and what kind of data are you collecting, storing, and using that needs to be kept secure? To get started on your cybersecurity framework, you need to start by thinking about all these questions.
2) Develop a Compliance Checklist
There are so many components to building a NIST-based cybersecurity framework, and the only way to make sure you don't miss a step is to outline where your organization fits into the NIST guide. This is a complicated process in itself, and most organizations would benefit from partnering with an IT partner to create this or at least getting a consultation.
3) Partner with a NIST Expert to Stay Organized and Efficient
You already have plenty of business to handle, and the last thing you need to worry about is an additional area of risk arising from not having the proper technology, capabilities, and expertise at your disposal when it comes to maintaining compliance. Whether you're a small business with no dedicated IT department or a larger establishment with existing IT, partnering with the right MSP can give you peace of mind knowing you're doing everything you should be to maintain compliance. That is, assuming you pick the right IT partner...
AllConnected is your TOTAL IT partner
Why Should You Invest in Cybersecurity Assessments?
AllConnected Provides NIST 800-171 Based Cybersecurity Assessments, including Risk Assessments, Vulnerability Assessments, and Cybersecurity Maturity Assessments
Cybersecurity Assessments Help You to:
- Get closer to regulatory compliance requirements by evaluating your compliance controls and revealing your full range of risk exposure.
- Identify gaps in your security program using “Gap Analysis” to show the difference between where you are at and the industry regulation you are trying to reach.
- Discover unrealized assets like your databases, web applications, digital platforms, and potentially infrastructure you aren’t always aware of. Any unmonitored, unpatched assets lead to the possibility of vulnerabilities.
- Identify vulnerabilities so you can plan ahead and reduce the likelihood of a breach
- Establish your security baseline so you better understand your security controls and set your organization on a clear path toward compliance.